


Liquid Silver

by itsaquinnquinnsituation



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-24
Updated: 2013-11-24
Packaged: 2018-01-02 13:19:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1057240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsaquinnquinnsituation/pseuds/itsaquinnquinnsituation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Let's see who's faster...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Liquid Silver

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction and my characters, real or based off real people do not belong to me. I am not making any money off my work and do not intend to offend anyone or use my work for any purpose other than innocent entertainment.
> 
> This is my universe and exactly how I see it. Writing should be enjoyed, not judged.
> 
> I am not impressed by this story myself, but I literally just wanted to write something, anything at all. So, you have been warned. It's not as good as my other stuff. Not that that stuff is much better.

“...yeah, and so her eyes just go like ‘whoop’, just like completely wide, and Liam...haha... Liam just grabs this framed photo off his nightstand, ‘cause, you know, he has this huge framed photo sitting on his nightstand and so... I don’t know, it was probably the nearest thing or something, cause all the pillows and the blankets were already on the floor by that point.... haha... so he grabs the photo and just uses it to cover his... his... junk... and stuff... and she like.... like looks... like her eyes just go from his face, to the photo, to me, as I’m trying to hide behind him... ‘Cause at that time I think I had – literally – nothing but my socks left on me.... And she is just like.... And Liam is like: ‘This is not what it looks like!’ Hahaha... and she’s like: ‘Well, I just wanted to tell you that dinner will be ready in 10 minutes... if you can finish by then and join us.’ And I just...” – Zayn covers his face with his hand and giggles for a good thirty seconds, - “When she finally closes the door, Liam turns to me like ‘Oh shit’ and then I look at the – like at the photo he’s still covering his dick with, and I realize it’s a photo of her!”

“Oh my God” – Lou’s boyfriend also got his face in his hands and his forehead has gone bright red like a tomato – “and then?” – He peeks just barely between his fingers.

“Well, nothing. We got dressed and went to have dinner. It didn’t help that they had hotdogs on the menu...”

Lou’s boyfriend throws his head back and laughs out loud until he begins to cough. Louis looks at him, mildly amused.

“You’ve clearly heard that story before?” 

“And more than once”- Louis nods, - “But Zayn only tells it to people he’s very comfortable with, so...”

“I feel so honoured” – Lou’s boyfriend places one hand on his chest and stretches the other one out to Zayn who squeezes it gently with a shy smile, - “How has it been since then?”

“Oh, fine”- Zayn gestures - “She’s a really cool lady. I’m happy she hasn’t told his dad or his sisters about it, I may have not survived all the teasing.”

“You’re lucky to have met him” – Louis notes, - “He really should have been here today.”

“I know” – Zayn nods emphatically, - “But it’s the last business trip for the project. We’ll come to visit you together when he comes back...but” – Zayn takes a sip of his rum-and-coke and continues, motioning vaguely at both Lou and his boyfriend, who are sitting on the sofa opposite him, - “Now it’s your turn for some juicy details.”

“Hunh...” – They look at each other and smile.

“Oh come on!” – Zayn sits up and leans forward, - “I have spilt my soul raw in front of you here and if only Liam knew that I...”

“Well, there’s nothing on me”- Lou’s boyfriend shrugs, smiling, - “As you know, I grew up Catholic... and I’ve never... I really don’t have any stories like that, maybe Lou...” – he turns to him.

“What? No!” – Louis protests, - “I have nothing like that! I mean, I had my days of partying and all, but I... most of it I really wouldn’t remember...”

“Oh come on!” – Zayn almost jumps out of his seat and sloshes his drink, - “Well, doesn’t have to be an embarrassing one! Could be... I don’t know, like a funny one or a sweet one...”

“You know all about me!”- Lou protests leaning back.

“No, I don’t, come on, stop being a prick! Okay” – Zayn winks at Lou’s boyfriend who is watching him with a gently amused look, - “How about this Lou, tell us about the most romantic moment in your life, we all know that deep down you’re a sap.”

Zayn’s waiting, looking at Lou, and he watches him wince, just barely, his pissy, exaggeratedly annoyed face fall just for a second before his mouth opens and closes and he frowns. Zayn looks to Lou’s boyfriend then and the lad’s smile is gone, but his face is soft and gentle, like always. 

“I d... Um... I...” – Lou starts and blinks hastily, but before Zayn can jump in and rescue him, Lou’s boyfriend asks:

“Oh come on, Louis, tell us.”

“That’s...” – Lou turns to his boyfriend and winces again, then looks at Zayn and readjusts himself nervously on the sofa, - “I think it’s getting quite late and Zayn here is getting drunk. I better call him a cab.”

“Nonsense” – his boyfriend smiles and nods at Zayn, - “I’ll give ya a lift later on. Come on, Lou, tell us a story. Just hold on a second, actually, let me go get us some food, I am starved.”

He gets up off the sofa and proceeds out of the room. Lou watches him with a nervous stare and as soon as he’s out of the earshot, jumps out of his seat enough to jab Zayn hard in the shoulder.

“Ow!” – Zayn examines his trousers now wet by a sloshed rum-and-coke.

“You dick!” – Louis hisses, blue eyes wide and glaring, - “Why the fuck did you have to bring it up?”

“What?” – Zayn rubs his shoulder, blinking at his friend, - “Normal question, Jesus, Lou, why the fuck did you freak out?”

“You even have to ask?”

“How the fuck should I have known your most romantic moment wasn’t with him? He is the only proper boyfriend you’ve ever had, so I assumed... Jesus Christ, I thought it’d be cute!”

“Well it wasn’t!”

“It would have been had you not stalled! Either way, look, who cares, looks like he’s fine with it!”

“Well, I’m not! You know full well how I....fuck” – he rubs his hand over his face, - “I’d really rather not... upset him.”

“Oh god, I doubt he’d be upset! You all have plenty of time to make better memories...”

“You don’t fucking get it? I think I’m in love with the guy and this is really not the time to talk about my past! I really... wish that I could take back all those years working at bars... Zayn, you know, he told me he’s only kissed two people in his life before me and that he’s only been in one long-term relationship? Like earlier I’d sneer at that, but fuck, now I wish he was my first and last kiss, like... I just don’t want to...”

“But he knows all about your past!” – Zayn interrupts, almost laughing and leaning back again, - “Or do I need to remind you that he found you when you were at your worst? He rescued you like a stray cat from a shelter, when you were covered in fleas and abscesses!”

“No!” – Louis seethes.

Zayn raises his brows.

“Oh fuck you!” – Louis jumps off the sofa.

“Look Lou, I think this whole thing is a big misunderstanding! My question was by no means intended to bring up your darker years” – Zayn puts down his drink but remains folded in the armchair, - “You know full well that I did not mean it like that, but what I don’t get is – what are you afraid of?”

Louis remains silent with his back to his friend.

“He’s seen it all, Lou, and he’s clearly stuck by you through all this time, he’s not about to leave now or in the future. He’s a stable, mature guy and it would be such a childish thing to do, to be jealous of the past. And now that you’ve been together for a year, I really don’t see why you should be embarrassed or keeping any secrets, especially if you feel like you want this thing to last?”

Lou returns to the sofa but buries his face in his hand. 

“I know you’ve been avoiding me whilst you were cleaning up your life – and it’s fine, I think maybe it was good for us, both of us, to get our lives back on track. And I don’t know. Um...” - He motions with his hands apologetically, - “I guess there are some things about you that I don’t know.”

“Oh?” – Louis lifts his face and Zayn involuntary smiles at his irritated expression. Louis rolls his eyes.

“For God’s sake, Lou, what could it be? Was it still with a girl? A mutual wank in the locker room after 10th grade P.E.?”

Louis smiles weakly:

“Well it meant something to me.”

“I’d like to hear it then... if I could...” – Lou lifts his head up swiftly to his boyfriend who places a tray with some sandwiches onto the coffee table before taking a seat on the sofa. Lou looks down at his hands and presses his lips. A beat passes. 

“Alright, I better get going” – Zayn makes a move to get up off the armchair, when Lou abruptly stops him with his hand:

“Stay. It’s... fuck, I’m sorry. I made the whole thing weirder than it should be. Sorry” – He turns to his boyfriend who smiles and shakes his head, - “It’s... it’s really nothing. It’s silly. No, it’s... just... I was young then. Like very young. Before... like before everything” – he motions to his boyfriend and the lad nods again, - “It’s not... I’m not keeping any secrets from you, just... it doesn’t mean anything anymore.” 

He takes a breath and before he can think of it twice, continues:

“I was about 18 or 19. I still lived at home, it was summer, and my mother needed to go out of town for the weekend. Normally, she’d leave me to take care of the girls but there have been some break-ins in the neighbourhood, so instead, she packed us up and took us over to her friend in Newport News. It was boring... sorry” – he cuts himself off and smiles at his boyfriend who chuckles in response, - “Sorry, I know it’s close to your hometown, but it’s more like – our hosts, I mean, like they didn’t have internet, and it was really not a good time at all. I was still at the community college back then and I hated it, I hated being treated like a kid, but still having to babysit all the time, the whole thing... Anyway, on our last night there, I snuck out of the window and went to the shore. Nothing exciting, just... I don’t know, couldn’t sleep. Their house was quite close to the water there, it was... really quite beautiful actually, the night was just quiet and peaceful, nobody around. The water was warm, there was a wee bit of mist, just typical Virginian summer. It wasn’t until I was up to my waist in the water that I noticed that I was not alone. First I freaked out a bit but then I noticed that the guy didn’t even see me, he was just kinda laying on the water on his back, at first I even thought he was dead... He just didn’t really move, so I thought ‘What the hell?’, you know and just swam up to where he was. And that’s when I saw it... 

It was just so... fucking beautiful, like I couldn’t even... It was a full-moon and the moon light was everywhere and just shining right down on us, and reflecting off the water, and the guy... he was just staring at it, at the sky or the moon, I mean, so I kinda looked, but then... I just did the same, really, I didn’t say anything, just laid up on the water right next to him and stared up and it was like... like we were floating on liquid silver, the whole thing was unreal, like I was afraid to breathe, ‘cause I wasn’t sure if he even noticed me, but then his hand... like he grabbed my hand and I just freaked... it was only a surprise, like I was just startled, really, but I kinda lost my balance and splashed and swallowed some water and he grabbed me and lifted my head up over the water and he was just laughing and laughing...”

“What’d he look like?” – Zayn interrupts hoarsely and Louis is startled, but shrugs weakly, not lifting his eyes off his lap:

“I don’t remember. It was dark and it was ten years ago. He should have been about my age, about same height, I think, the only thing I remember, he had this necklace with a cross, just like a silver cross, because when he was trying to help me, I grabbed at him and nearly ripped it off accidentally. Um” – Louis wipes his eye and continues, - “And I don’t know, like he was just smiling and then I just splashed him, he splashed me back. It was fun, I don’t know, we messed around for awhile, just kinda chasing each other, until we just sort of stood there and he put his hands on my shoulders and the water was dripping off his hair, and he like... closed his eyes and leaned in... but I lost it at that point, I just turned around and screamed, ‘Let’s see who’s faster’ and started swimming for the dock and he just... he kinda looked... but then just took off after me...”

“So, who won?” – Zayn prompts him cautiously after the pause gets too long. 

“I don’t know, but by the time we were at the dock, I just felt him all over me and we both went under water and... well, and that’s when we kissed. I’m not sure who kissed whom, but underneath, it was all dark, and I don’t know, I just freaked, kind of everything came down on me, that I was kissing a guy, you know, just like... like what it meant and stuff. And also... also... well, you’ll call me a dork, and go ahead, but that really was my first kiss, or whatever, not like... I mean just like – where I actually felt something... And so I just kind of like – got out of the water, grabbed my clothes and took off. I don’t remember getting back to my room, and in the morning I couldn’t even believe that the whole thing even happened until I saw my wet clothes on the floor. My mother picked us up that same afternoon.”

“You never saw him again?”

“Nope.” – Louis shakes his head, not lifting it up, - “I never got his name, in fact, I’ve never said anything to him at all that night, besides just then when we were swimming for the dock. I was confused for weeks after that and on top of everything I was dealing with, my mother’s new boyfriend, babysitting my sisters all the time, working at the store, college... I went back to that town later, about six months after that night, just looking for him, hoping to randomly run into him, but no... It was silly of course.”

“Do you... wish you could see him again?”

“No... well, not anymore, I don’t think.. Like I used to wonder, how he ended up, like where’s he now... You know? It was probably just a spur of the moment thing, like he’s probably now married and with kids, but for me... It’s just... sometimes I think it was... Like one of those things... anyway, after that, eventually I just spiralled downward, you all know that. I don’t know, like if I said something to him then, like if I asked for his name, how things could have been different maybe? I’m not sure, because as it was, it wasn’t until 2 years after that, that I accepted my sexuality. And then... like you’ve said” – he vaguely motions at his boyfriend without looking, - “I’ve just been searching for something perfect, something just like that moment, only maybe you get that just once in life and you just... Well, anyway. It doesn’t matter anymore, because now we’re...” – He turns to his boyfriend and immediately chokes on his spit. The lad’s face is about as pale as his plain white tee, his mouth wide open and eyes, unblinking, glued to Louis’ face.

“Fuck” – Louis whispers under his breath, noticing that the lad’s hand is clutching at his chest, - “Zayn, you asshole!” – He shrieks turning to his friend, who looks at him in surprise, - “I told you, it would upset him. Fuck!” – he grabs for his boyfriend’s hand, - “Harry! Harry, please, it meant nothing, really! I was just a kid, it was really nothing!”

Harry’s eyes focus on his again, slowly, and he shakes his head, smiling bitterly:

“And things could have been different if you talked to him then?”

“No! Maybe! God, I don’t know! It doesn’t matter! I wasn’t ready then, God, Harry, who cares? It was a long time ago! He’s probably not even gay at all, or never admitted it to himself, after all, he was probably a Christian, wearing that cross and all...”

“Oh no” – Harry shakes his head mournfully as Louis finally manages to unclench his boyfriend's hand and notices that he is not grabbing at his t-shirt, but at his necklace instead, the one he never takes off, a small piece of silver that he’s never talked about and that, as Louis only now realises with a sudden decrease in blood pressure, looks very much like a water drop, - “It looks like I was a lot faster then, Louis. It only took me two days to have Mr. Keets melt it down. The Newport News jewellery shop was not open on Sundays.”

They stare at each other, both pale as snow, cold hands clasped to white knuckles over Harry’s crude water-drop necklace. Their silence is only interrupted when Zayn finally gets it with a quiet:

“Oh God.”

**Author's Note:**

> The prequel to this story is "Leftovers". I did not even realize how they flowed together until I wrote this one already, so I reset it geographically to make it connect.


End file.
